The College of William and Mary
To our educational system which is dedicated to Math & Science first – PLEASE ALSO TEACH WHAT WE NEED TO KNOW TO SURVIVE THE WORLD IN WHICH WE LIVE.
In 1744 the Indian Chiefs of many nations met to discuss a letter from the College of William and Mary. (While the Americas were still colonies of England and Europe.)
The letter suggested they send 12 of their young men to college so they might be taught to read and write.
The Indian Chiefs sent the following reply:
“We know you highly esteem the type of learning you suggest and the maintenance of our young men would be highly expensive to you. We are convinced, therefore, that you meant to do us good by your proposal and we thank you hardily. But you, who are wise, must know that different nations have different conceptions of things, and you will therefore not take it amiss that our ideas of this kind of education may not be the same with yours.
We have some experience of it, several of our young men were formally brought up at the colleges of the Northern Provinces. They were instructed in all of your sciences, but when they came back to us they were… bad runners – ignorant of every means of living in the woods – were unable to bare either cold or hunger – knew neither how to build a cabin, take a deer or kill an enemy – spoke our languages imperfectly – and therefore were neither fit for hunters, warriors nor councilors – they were totally good for nothing.
We are, however, not the less obliged to your kind offer, though we decline accepting it.
To show our great sense of it, if the gentlemen of Virginia will send us a dozen of their sons, we will take care of their education, instruct them in all that we know and make men of them.”
(Source: This letter was read on a Dave Ramsey podcast.)
